3 Women Charged With Raping Men & Hoarding 33 Condoms Worth Of Semen

Any story of rape, whether it happens to a man, woman or child, is horrific and tragic. This particular story has the distinction of being horrific, tragic and weird: three women in Zimbabwe have been charged with sexually assaulting male hitchhikers and collecting condoms filled with semen. The women had 33 jizz-laden condoms, which police say were acquired during 17 different sexual assaults over the past two years.

So, what the hell is going on?

Police say the women picked up male hitchhikers and then offered them a drink with a tranquilizer and then raped them, or forced them into having sex raping them at gunpoint. (UPDATE: Previous sentence updated to reflect a point made by commenter TheFabulousMzM.) Then they would take the sperm-filled condoms and ditch the guys.

A sociology professor at the University of Zimbabwe told CNN a belief that semen is a potent life source for activities other than baby-making could be behind the attacks. He explained:

“Some sections of the society use these sperm for ritual purposes. The thinking is that it can be used for regeneration of life since they are source of life (biologically). Some people think that they can have their bad luck gone by using semen.”